Baltimore Ravens general manager and executive vice president Ozzie Newsome, seen here in January, 2011, has built a deep roster. / Rob Carr, Associated Press

by Robert Klemko, USA TODAY Sports

by Robert Klemko, USA TODAY Sports

NEW ORLEANS -- A torn Achilles tendon for the defensive player of the year was only the tip of the iceberg.

In the 35-year NFL memory of Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, no defense had ever been so ravaged in one season. But the Ravens somehow are in the Super Bowl, set to face the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. And as 30 NFL teams pout, the Ravens, despite a long list of injuries that could have -- should have -- derailed their season, play on.

Linebacker Jameel McClain suffered a neck injury and was lost for the season. So, too, was cornerback Lardarius Webb, who tore his ACL. The situation would have been bleaker, if not for two fast-healing linebackers: Terrell Suggs fought his way back from an Achilles injury, and Ray Lewis hustled back from a torn right triceps to make one last bid for his second Super Bowl championship.

It's a feel-good Super Bowl story to have them back, but it misses the point that the defense first had to overcome their absences. Filling out a lineup card has been a challenge.

"Actually, it's been fun," defensive coordinator Dean Pees said.

Pees can thank Newsome and the Ravens front office for the roster depth. Despite the depressing medical report, Newsome, known around the NFL as "The Wizard," has the Ravens in the playoffs for the fifth season in a row, with a chance to win the franchise's second Super Bowl since moving from Cleveland in 1996.

And the Ravens can trace it to Newsome's keen eye for talent.

"Ozzie Newsome has year-in and year-out put out relevant teams and given his team a chance to win a Super Bowl," Giants general manager Jerry Reese told USA TODAY Sports. "We're all chasing Ozzie."

As the Hall of Fame tight end turned personnel guru, approaches his 57th birthday, Newsome has worked to keep his roster from aging as well. Despite Lewis' pending retirement and questions surrounding the future of other veterans, such as safety Ed Reed, Newsome has imported enough young talent to keep the Ravens "relevant" for years to come.

"Evaluating players is one thing, doing contracts is another," Newsome said last week. "But to be there with those guys and to watch those guys grow up, you can't find anything better than that."

GOOD COP, BAD COP

Many Ravens have unpleasant memories about their first interaction with Newsome and his staff. But looking back they say they realize Newsome was just protecting the team's possible investment while also challenging them.

Defensive lineman Pernell McPhee suppressed his anger when Newsome called him during the fifth round of the draft in 2011 to say the Ravens had selected him -- much later than McPhee believed he would be picked.

Starting inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe said he scoffed at an email from head coach John Harbaugh, who suggested that he try out for the Ravens if he went undrafted in 2009. Not get drafted? Ellerbe immediately dismissed the idea. Then he wasn't drafted.

Former Alabama defensive tackle Terrence Cody sat across from Newsome and assistant general manager Eric DeCosta during a 15-minute interview at the 2010 NFL Combine, fielding questions about his weight.

"It was all good, until he kept asking me questions and I got offended about it," Cody said. "I felt like he was coming at me. I was like, 'Yeah, I have my weight under control,' then he started attacking me, like 'Why were you that big at the Senior Bowl?'

"I defended myself. I got loud. He asked me, 'How do we know you're not going to do the same thing if we draft you?' And I was like, 'I know how to eat right!' After that, everything was good."

The Ravens drafted Cody with the 57th pick in the second round, and haven't had a beef with the 350-pound tackle's weight since.

DeCosta, 41, joined Newsome's staff 17 years ago, and the pair have a go-to routine when gauging a player's attitude at the combine.

"There are some players, you want to press him a little bit to see how they respond," DeCosta said . "There have been situations where we've done a good-cop, bad-cop routine.

"We want to see how these guys respond to different issues. It could be off-the-field or football-specific issues, character issues. What we saw with Terrence Cody was pride."

Cody, who had ballooned above 400 pounds, cut his weight to 335 in 2011, and now hovers around 350. He has shared time with veteran Ma'ake Kemoeatu this season, and projects as the team's long-term nose tackle.

McPhee, the 280-pounder who helped fill in for Suggs this season, remembers watching the 2011 draft with friends in his hometown of Pahokee, Fla. He seethed at going undrafted in the early rounds, and he was still mad when Newsome called.

"They could tell in my voice," McPhee said. "I was upset. I'm still upset. I'm always going to be upset. But it was probably a good thing for me. It opened up my eyes."

Some players are happy just to be drafted, DeCosta said, while others are upset at not being chosen sooner. The Ravens, it seems, prefer players who hold those grudges -- and use them as fuel -- for years. It's one reason the Ravens play with an edge. Newsome and DeCosta welcome that simmering fire.

"We try to find players that have a chip, who are motivated, who want to prove everybody else wrong," DeCosta said. "I think the passionate players and the competitive players end up being the best players, and I think ability sometimes is less important than makeup."

MOST THOROUGH TEAM

When Reese became general manager for the Giants in 2007, he leaned on Newsome for advice. Newsome has a reputation for helping other personnel evaluators in the NFL.

"Ozzie is not a man of many words," Reese said. "But when he talks, you better be listening."

For the Ravens, that's been true for a simple reason: Several college coaches told USA TODAY Sports the Ravens were the most thorough NFL team they'd encountered.

Baltimore was looking for a versatile corner in 2009 when regional scouts found Webb, a reformed partier who wore out his welcome at Southern Miss before transferring to Nicholls State. Before the Ravens chose Webb in the third round, they hounded then Nicholls State coach and Jay Thomas.

"They really did a lot of homework," said Thomas, currently the coach at Northwestern State. "I had a Ravens scout approach me as I was walking to practice. They wanted to know what kind of scheme he would fit in, how we used him, what his attitude was, what kind of person he would be.

"One asked me, 'How's he going to go from eating Chicken McNuggets every day to having money?' They wanted to know how I thought Lardarius could handle the life."

Webb got his chance to contribute right away with the Ravens, starting the last four games of his rookie season. And after three seasons, Harbaugh described him as the "best cornerback in the NFL" -- right as Webb was lost for the season as the string of injuries hit.

"You just don't know how hard it is to get to the Super Bowl," Newsome said. "You've got to manage injuries. There are so many different things you have to manage just to get this opportunity. This team has a lot of resolve."

As a rookie who became a contributor right away, Webb is an anomaly in Baltimore. Other draftees have to wait much longer.

Outside linebacker Paul Kruger, 26, started one game in 2009 after being drafted late in the second round out of Utah, and played sparingly over the next three seasons behind Suggs and Jarret Johnson.

"My first couple years, it was hard for me to see the path," he said. "We had so many outstanding players who were already established here. And I was really frustrated. "

Plus he was distracted off the field.

"When you're in a new city, you want to see things and meet girls, experience the town," Kruger said. "I got caught up in that enough to where it did affect my game."

Kruger said he cleaned his act up before the 2011 season. Then, Johnson was let go after nine seasons, and when Suggs went down, Kruger was forced into action. With his rookie deal expiring, he had a career-high nine sacks and 42 tackles in 2012. Kruger shows that, given their depth and front office stability, the Ravens have the luxury of patience.

"I worry about winning today, but I've got to also worry about winning tomorrow," Newsome said. "It's tough to evaluate a player in their first week, in their first season, in their second week or in their second season. But we have four years to determine whether a guy can get on the field and be great."

But would the Ravens have seen Kruger's potential without Suggs' injury? Have those injuries, thought to be devastating at the time, actually helped the Ravens reach the Super Bowl? And will the playing time given to backups help them win more games next season and beyond?

"It's sort of a trick question," DeCosta said. "Because we'd love to have Lardarius Webb out there and a healthy Terrell Suggs and a 100% healthy Ray Lewis. On the other hand, it gives you the chance to see how guys are going to respond.

"I think that's been one of the most gratifying parts of this year, to see guys who didn't have a chance before emerge and become significant players. It gives us a lot of hope for the future."